Retrofit Atlas

Malls · New York

Penn-Can Mall

Imported, unreviewedReinhabitedOperatingCicero, NY

Opened 1976. Closed 1996. Reinhabited in 2000.

Status nowOperatingextracted, unreviewed
What it becameretailextracted, unreviewed
Retrofit year2000extracted, unreviewed
Walkability7.8 of 20 · 15-minute 5 of 6EPA, OpenStreetMap
Rail within 800 mNoOpenStreetMap, HUD
Ask who owns this Download dossier (PDF) · early access Download record (JSON) API Share LinkedIn Correct this record

Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from.

Penn-Can Mall
Interior view of a shopping center with escalators and holiday decorations. · verified by a vision model. Photo: Kai Brinker (User:Newkai), CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.

Site profile11 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Former anchors
HillsThis site: Hills wikipedia · all sites with this
SearsThis site: Sears wikipedia · all sites with this
Place
15-minute neighbourhood (5+ of 6 daily needs within 800 m)This site: 5/6 openstreetmap · all sites with this
30,000+ vehicles a day on an adjacent roadThis site: 51,704 on 81 fhwa-hpms · all sites with this
Bike network nearbyThis site: 21 ways openstreetmap · all sites with this
County home values up 50%+ in 5 yearsThis site: +51% zillow · all sites with this
County lost 10%+ of retail establishments since 2012This site: -10% census-cbp · all sites with this
Grocery within 800 mThis site: 3 stores openstreetmap · all sites with this
Low social vulnerability tract (SVI ≤ 0.25)This site: 0.09 cdc-svi · all sites with this
Strategy
ReinhabitedThis site: Driver's Village is an auto row in Cicero, New York, near Syracuse, New York, United States. extraction · all sites with this
New use
Retail (continued)This site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

StatusOperatingextracted, unreviewed
StrategyReinhabitedextracted, unreviewed
New usesretailextracted, unreviewed
What is there nowDriver's Village is an auto row in Cicero, New York, near Syracuse, New York, United States.extracted, unreviewed
Retrofit year2000extracted, unreviewed

Site context

FEMA flood zoneno NFHL polygon at point (unmapped or outside coverage)FEMA NFHL
EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m3: DRIVER'S VILLAGE COLLISION CENTER; GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO ACS 1137; NYSDOT BIN 1031720EPA FRS
Census tract 360670105002,294 people, 1,326 per sq mi; median household income $86,850; median gross rent $1,390; 6% renters; 5.9% vacant units; 0.0% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year
Walkability (EPA, block group)index 7.8 of 20; 48 intersections per sq mi; no transit stop within the EPA search radius; land-use mix 0.76; 40,424 jobs within 45 min by car; 6% of households without a carEPA Smart Location
Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m)5 of 6 daily needs: 3 grocers, 0 schools, 2 parks or playgrounds, 1 health, 1 civic, 7 food and drink; 21 cycleway segments, 0 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap
Opportunity ZonenoHUD
Housing permits, Onondaga County (NY), 2024278 units in 5+ unit buildings, 32 in 2–4, 323 single-family; 2023: 66 in 5+Census BPS
Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract)overall percentile 0.09; socioeconomic 0.18; housing and transport 0.08; 8% below 150% of poverty; 3% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR
Other atlas sites nearby2 within 10 km, 4 within 25 km: Driver's Village (0.0 km); Great Northern Mall (9.9 km)computed
Overture Mapsno place match; building footprint 16,985 m²Overture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Attention: Wikipedia page views3,321 since 2015; 1,535 in the last 12 months (+15% vs the prior 12); peak 2024-12 with 185Wikimedia
Tract change 2013–2023population -4% (2,385 → 2,294); median income +24% ($70,192 → $86,850); renters 6% → 6%; median home value +35% ($145,900 → $196,900)Census ACS 5-year
Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract)very low overall (score 4.9); expected annual loss $488,875; community resilience very highFEMA NRI
Tax-credit housing within 1 kmnoneHUD LIHTC
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 20231,507 establishments (-10%); 26,928 jobs (-8%)Census CBP
Housing market in the countytypical home value $285,908 (+6% 1 yr, +51% 5 yr); typical rent $1,673/mo (+3% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
House price index, tract, 2025568 (2000 = 100); +16.1% 1 yr, +70% 5 yr, +98% 10 yrFHFA
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)51,704 vehicles a day on 81; 10,985 trucks; 40 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Penn-Can Mall opened in 1976 by the Winmar Company and expanded to 121 stores by 1986. It closed in 1996 amid competition from newer malls in the Syracuse area. The structure was partially demolished and reopened in 2000 as Driver's Village, an auto row, and remains operating as retail.

Why. The record attributes the mall's decline and closure to competition from newer malls in the Syracuse area. The subsequent partial demolition and retrofit were driven by the need to repurpose the vacant structure.

Where it stands. The site is currently operating as Driver's Village (an auto row) under an unspecified owner, with the record listing its status as operating and strategy as reinhabit.

For a planner

  • Demonstrates a reinhabit strategy with retrofit completed in 2000.
  • Policy tools or incentives used for the retrofit are not detailed in the record.
  • Open questions include long-term viability of the auto row use and its integration with surrounding land use and transportation.

For a developer

  • Site size and parcel boundaries are not provided in the record.
  • Ownership/control structure and current entitlement status are unspecified.
  • Context-layer constraints (flood risk, transit access, environmental conditions) and market signals from tract data are absent.

What we do not know yet

  • Owner or controlling entity of the site is not identified.
  • Exact parcel size, building footprint, and current tenant mix are unknown.
  • Any floodplain, transit, or environmental constraints affecting the site are not detailed.
  • Financial performance or lease terms post-retrofit are not recorded.
  • The record is marked as 'draft' verified, indicating possible unreviewed or model-extracted data.

Generated by nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b on NVIDIA API via Hermes CT from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.

Similar sites

Elsewhere on the web

Retail history: Penn-Can Mall on DeadMalls.com photos, field notes and visitor memories since 2000; matched by name and state only, check the city; nothing copied here

Pages with photos

Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar

Multifamily screen

  • retrofit already built

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

History and original facts

Opened1976extracted, unreviewed
Closed1996extracted, unreviewed
Stores at peak121extracted, unreviewed
Original developerWinmar Companyextracted, unreviewed
AnchorsHills, Sears, Chappell's
CountyOnondaga County
Census division2 · Mid-Atlantic
NotesWikipedia categories: Defunct shopping malls in the United States

Not yet recorded: acres, GLA. Know it? Tell us.

Background

Driver's Village is an auto row in Cicero, New York, near Syracuse, New York, United States. It is housed in a former shopping mall which was known as Penn-Can Mall. Opened on March 28, 1976, Penn-Can Mall was the first enclosed mall on the north end of Syracuse, and the fourth mall to be built in the entire metropolitan area. It was constructed by the Winmar Company of Seattle, Washington, and had room for 86 stores. At the mall's inception, only 28 stores were open, but the other spaces quickly followed, followed by even more during an expansion in 1986, putting the mall's store count to 121. Anchor stores of the mall included Hills, Sears, and Chappell's. After a period of decline in the 1990s, brought on by competition from newer malls in the Syracuse area, Penn-Can Mall closed in 1996. The structure was partially demolished and reopened in 2000 as Driver's Village.

Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.

Timeline

  1. 1976 Opened
  2. 1986 Expansion increased store count to 121
  3. 1996 Closed
  4. 2000 Partially demolished and reopened as Driver's Village

Sources

  • Wikipedia: Penn-Can Mall · supports: after notes, original developer, status, strategy, year closed, year opened
    10 quoted sentences
    Opened on March 28, 1976, Penn-Can Mall was the first enclosed mall on the north end of Syracuse, and the fourth mall to be built in the entire metropolitan area.
    After a period of decline in the 1990s, brought on by competition from newer malls in the Syracuse area, Penn-Can Mall closed in 1996.
    It was constructed by the Winmar Company of Seattle, Washington,
    Driver's Village is an auto row in Cicero, New York, near Syracuse, New York, United States.

More in New York

Albee Square MallBrooklyn, NY · 2012Redeveloped · Redevelopment: mixed useAmsterdam Riverfront CenterAmsterdam, NY · 2011Reinhabited · Reinhabitation: office and self-storageComo MallCheektowaga, NY · 1991Reinhabited · Reinhabitation, office and educationMain Place MallBuffalo, NY · 2013Partial Reinhabited · Partial reinhabitation: data centerMidtown PlazaMidtown PlazaRochester, NY · 2005Partial Redeveloped · Regreened · Reinhabited · Partial reinhabitation: residential Partial redevelopment: office…Rainbow MallRainbow MallNiagara Falls, NY · 2012Partial Reinhabited · Partial reinhabitation: education